Root, Nurture, Grow: The Essential Guide to Propagating and Sharing Houseplants

by Caro Langton, Rose Ray

You've created your own house of plants, so what's next? The authors of House of Plants follow up their successful debut book with Root, Nurture, Grow – a practical and detailed guide to propagating and sharing indoor plants.

The stylish handbook shows you how to make the most of your favorite houseplants through simple, beginner-friendly propagation techniques (such as stem cutting, rooting in water, runners, offsets, grafting, division and more), as well as resourceful DIY projects including homemade rooting mediums, seed-bombs, and a self-watering plant pot.

It shows you how to look after and nurture your new plant babies, and how to share them with friends by making beautiful gifts and displays.

Genres: Plants, Nonfiction, Gardening, Nature, Reference, How To, Self Help

208 pages, Hardcover

First published October 18, 2018

Reviews

[Amanda Torres · Rating 4 out of 5]

I deeply enjoyed this book! Loved all the new ways of making cuttings and how to problem solve with my plants. My only problem is that the photos could have been more practical and not just aesthetic? Some of the step by steps photos were a bit confusing. Other than that, great book for a beginner houseplant parent!

[Kristi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cool! Probably will need to add this one to my collection.

[Kiki Bolwijn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super! Vooral handig is dat ze aangeven wat je allemaal kan kopen om goede stekken te maken, maar vooral ook hoe je dingen die je al in huis hebt (of gratis op straat liggen) kan gebruiken om zo duurzaam mogelijk met de wereld om te gaan. (Met dank aan buren met grint waarvan ik elke dag een handje heb meegenomen)

[Janine · Rating 5 out of 5]

brb propagating all of my plants now.

[Maya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Da ich mich seit einiger Zeit ja sehr, sehr dolle für Pflanzen begeistern kann, und mittlerweile auch ein paar viele habe, will ich demnächst natürlich auch mal ein paar Ableger schneiden. Bzw habe ich sogar schon ein paar Ableger in Wasser stehen, und es ist einfach toll zu beobachten, wie sich aus einem "Blatt mit Stil" auf einmal Wurzeln bilden und somit eine ganz neue Pflanze entsteht. Doch was ist eigentlich ein Pflanzenableger? Durch einen Ableger kann sich eine Pflanze vermehren, es ist also im Prinzip eine optische Miniausgabe der Mutterpflanze. Oft wird dazu ein Teil der Pflanze von der Mutterpflanze abgeschnitten, um anschließend bewurzelt zu werden. Und ich sag euch, es ist unheimlich spannend den Ablegern beim Wachsen zuzusehen!
In "Plant It - Love It!" findet man wirklich super genaue Anleitungen, wie man Pflanzen vermehren kann - egal ob Sukkulente, Monstera oder Grünlilie, wer das Buch gelesen hat ist bereit seine eigene Pflanzenarmee groß zu ziehen! Das Buch ist unheimlich schön und vor allem hochwertig gestaltet, das Papier ist etwas dicker als bei herkömmlichen Büchern und das Cover ein richtiger Eye-catcher. Im Buch selbst gibt es soo viele tolle Bilder, grade die Doppelseiten, auf welchen nur Bilder zu finden sind, haben es mir angetan! Und wie oben schon erwähnt, gibt einem "Plant It - Love It!" einen richtig guten Überblick um die liebsten Pflanzen zu vermehren. Doch es werden auch "Basics" angesprochen und auf Krankheiten eingegangen.

Wenn ihr euch also für Pflänzchen interessiert, kann ich euch das Buch wirklich nur ans Herz legen! Ihr findet tolle Schritt - für - Schritt Anleitungen, bei denen man nichts falsch machen kann. Egal ob Anfänger oder Pflanzen - Experte!

[Moizza · Rating 2 out of 5]

Amateur botanist and 'scientician' that I am, I had some criticisms with this indoor gardening handbook. For example, the back cover states that "the secret" about houseplant propagation is that "it's really, really easy" yet the first pages emphasize the need for: 1. a sterile environment, 2. a light touch, 3. special tools, and 4. weeks of patience. Nothing in this book sounds easy, and the way it's organized makes it even more complicated. Multi-step procedures are listed in 8 pt. font next to giant, multi-page photo spreads. There's a lot of skipping ahead and skipping back because the chapters aren't laid out well. Whatever good information or tips included are hard to locate and somewhat cursory. The table of plants and propagation methods (on pg. 96 instead of say, pg. 5) is organized by scientific name in one column and suggested propagation method and time in the second column. That's it: no picture; only some common names; and no other classification (i.e. tropical, epiphyte, bromeliad, fern, etc.) that might help you work with similar plants.

[Mikie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Detaljerad och välgjord. Dock känns det inte som någon bok för nybörjare, eftersom de framställer det som lite mer komplicerat än det behöver vara att ta sticklingar. Men jag antar att det är svårt att skriva en bok som bara går ut på ”klipp, sätt i vatten och vänta”… Utöver det, bra tips och detaljerade beskrivningar som nog gör det svårt att göra fel. Det blir dock en del hoppande fram och tillbaka mellan avsnitt vilket gör boken lite rörig.

Minus en stjärna för att de går igenom det mesta med växtskötsel förutom ohyra. Det nämns bara kort och framställs som ett mindre och lätthanterligt problem. Vilket det inte är /mvh en som kämpat mot trips i snart ett år. ”Såpavatten” hjälper inte långt.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

You could propagate tons of plants for family and friends with the instructions in this book, which is thorough and attractive. But, many of the plants in the pictures actually look sick. Would it have killed them to pick off the leaves that have crispy edges (under watering or too dry conditions is probably the culprit) or clear issues with fungus (yellow leaves and round brown circles of growth)? The plants are not going to be able to heal these leaves, so it is best to remove them and let the plant make more. Also, I think it would be best to focus readers' attention on propagation projects that won't take months. Not many people have the patience or space to wait months if it may be their first project or their space is limited.

[Aly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a big fan of the book. Love the photos - they’re stunning. I think the biggest issue for me is that the book seems disorganised. For example, let’s say I want to learn about rooting in water (page 42); on this page I will learn that I will need to cut below a node (which I have to check out in page 58), learn about rooting acid (page 36-39) and just flip flop between a couple of pages - and this happens with almost every topic.

It’s not a compelling book to read cover to cover, but if I were to pick up to read a topic, it’s ok. Also really like the small projects they include (mini mango tree, root chutes etc.) but if you’re looking for a be all and end all to propagating, I don’t recommend.

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this book, but I was pretty underwhelmed. Some of the directions were so thorough and easy to follow, and others were lacking clarity and the accompanying pictures were little to no help. It also seemed a little disorganized.

Speaking of the pictures, I was surprised to find a lot of sad looking plants throughout the book. I appreciate the fact that not every single plant was magazine cover-worthy, but some looked outright sick with scale or were very sunburned.

I'm glad I borrowed and didn't buy this one.

[Shar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative and beautifully laid out. They include several pictures as inspiration and purposefully do not include a lot of step-by-step photos to go with the instructions, but I think I would have preferred to see some of the steps visualized. Otherwise, would make a good reference manual. Completely covers propagating different ways, and not just limited to succulents.

[Cecelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having been learning about plants for a couple years now, I will say that I learned even more yet from this book. I loved learning about the why behind different propagation techniques, as opposed to just the how-to. It has helped me grow in understanding of my plants!

[Leilani Fairweather · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beautiful photos, mediocre information

[Rev · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a helpful book. When I brought home a plant earlier this year, one of the leaves had broken off and so I tried to propogate that leaf. I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong when it never rooted and ended up rotting in the jar. Turns out it needed to have a node on it and I had no idea. I'd definitely have benefited from this book while trying to troubleshoot that. It'll also be helpful in the future as my collection grows.

[Laurie Cybulski · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve had a few books on propagation. This one is better than some of the others. It has a wide array of prop techniques and pictures. It some tips that I found useful for things I’ve had trouble with.

Where it fails is troubleshooting prop failure after you plant in soil. I’m still looking for a guide to be more specific on that.

Overall, it’s a pretty guide. I 100% don’t want this in hard back. It’s too hard to keep it open while you’re using it.

[Micebyliz]

This book would be great except for one thing. It's time that plant books get updated into the 21st century. "Wandering Jew" is not appropriate. I have seen in many plant books and honestly i can't figure out why it is still considered okay. Seriously? on what planet?
https://bloomboxclub.com/blogs/news/w...
read this and see what you think.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very pretty and inspiring book. This will be a great reference when I have more room for plants and can actually do some propagation. Very informative and clear. In some places, I’d have liked the photos to be better aligned to the text, but overall, a really nice book that would also be a great gift for houseplant lovers.

[Mary Amper · Rating 3 out of 5]

A ton of pretty Instagram-able pics, visually very much a coffee table book, but the pics next to care/propagation instructions should actually show the steps for visual examples. Sometimes you have difficult instructions and a pic of like, the author wistfully brushing her fingertips along the leaves of a tree. How does that help the reader

[Kitty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is exactly what I hoped for in a houseplant reference book!

So informative and beautiful with the plenty of inspirational photos. I am actually going to purchase this one to have on hand. Love that I could borrow from my local library first.

If you are looking to advance your houseplant skills to propagate what you have in your collection - this is the book for you!!

[Manyamoon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book about houseplants I've ever seen, period! There's tons of information about how to care for plants and methods of propagation. Besides that the design of the book is beautiful, modern and fresh, and the photography is very inspiring.

Absolutely LOVED it!

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s an interesting book, i wouldn’t recomend it if u are not really interested in taking any of its information to practice. I’ll definetely use it when plant propagation season starts again, + it’s beatuifully designed with all the pictures and illustrations!

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

A basic giude and many good-looking photos and graphic pages that filled out many pages. A fun read if you want to know more ways to propagate houseplants but mostly i just use the water method. Lots of eye candy for plant lovers.

[Edy Gies · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a helpful and beautiful book. The pictures were all Instagram-worthy and full of incredibly beautiful plants. The propagating instructions were clear and easy to follow. I'm not sure I will be trying all of them just yet, but I still found this book helpful and enjoyable.

[FlyingBulgarian Svetli H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seems like my knowledge of plants is better than I expected and I knew the things mentioned in this book, except for a couple of surprises which were useful. Nice way to end the year - with confidence and seeking another book on plants...

[minx · Rating 3 out of 5]

An okay rimer of propagation but the authors were sticklers to some weird information (like rocks at the bottom of a pot for drainage) that isn't really supported by science as good for plants. should be read with a grain of salt.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, inspiring, and incredibly useful.

[Laurel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had originally borrowed this from the library and ended up purchasing my own copy. Excellent reference.

[Christine Sopko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good info...but I only propagate in the winter months so it didn't fit my timeline in reading.

[Gina Zappa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely, helpful book.

[Ashley Kempkes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got too busy reading other things, is a very pretty book.

I love that I now know I can divide plants in half! Definitely going to be looking into doing that one day.